With automakers focused on increased fuel efficiency these days, the move to smaller displacement engines with turbochargers is happening at a rapid pace. Ford was one of the first to head in that direction on the domestic market with its EcoBoost V6 engine that has so far been used in the Taurus, F-150, Flex and several other Lincoln vehicles.

The F-150 with the EcoBoost twin turbo V6 engine has proven to be very popular. In fact, the combination of the F-150 and the EcoBoost is so popular that Ford is raising the sales forecast for the truck. Ford says the reason for the forecast upgrade is that the market demand for the EcoBoost F-150 has been greater than expected.

Previously Ford had expected about 40% of the F-150 trucks sold to use the EcoBoost 3.5L engine. Ford is now predicting that about 45% of the F-150 trucks it sells to have the EcoBoost with a total retail sales number of about 100,000 in 2011. Ford full-size pickup sales -- including HD vehicles and fleet vehicles – are up almost 8% to 416,488 units through September 30.

Traditionally, the V8 is the engine of choice in the F-150 and truck market overall. Ford does provide a version of the 5.0-liter V8 used in the Mustang GT for F-150 buyers that still want eight cylinders on tap.

During the last few months, the WSJ reports that the EcoBoost has accounted for 42% of F-150 sales. This is in part thanks to the robust power and towing capacity mixed with fuel economy averaging 18 mpg compared to the 14-17 mpg for V8-equipped trucks.

quote: Yep, and for the once a year that I MIGHT need a pickup to haul those things

And that works FOR YOU! Not for EVERYONE! Like yourself, I occasionally rent a tractor (maybe 3 or 4 times a year which I tow with my truck). The cost of the tractor vs the amount of times I would use it does not work out for me. Quite a number of my neighbors own tractors. But that doesn't mean I'm going to sh!t on them because I think they don't need theirs. They need theirs, I don't. No hating needed.

BTW, good luck trying to find a rental place that will let you TOW using their truck. 99.6% will NOT let you do it.